1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to automatic systems for handling a plurality of elongated slender articles and relates particularly to automatic handling and loading systems for large caliber ammunition used by military aircraft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Historically military aircraft armament consisted primarily of rapid fire machine guns in which the cartridges were mounted in belts which fed from one ammunition box through the gun to another ammunition box. As military aircraft became more complex with increased speed and payload capacity, 20 mm and 30 mm cannon and rockets were added to the armament system. However, only a few rockets could be accommodated and the cannon had a relatively slow rate of fire and, therefore, a large ammunition capacity was not needed.
The technology of aircraft armament systems continued to increase and the rate of fire of the cannon rose significantly until General Electric Company developed the GAU-8/A 30 mm Gatling type gun for use with the U.S. Air Force A-10 Close Air Support Aircraft. This gun and the accompanying armament system has an ammunition capacity of approximately 1350 rounds which can be fired at a rate of up to approximately 4200 shots per minute. Because of such capacity and rate of fire, a substantial problem has arisen in reloading the armament system in a minimum amount of time since the spent casings or shells must be removed from the aircraft armament system and either simultaneously or subsequently the armament system must be replenished with live rounds. Further, it is frequently necessary to fuel and rearm an aircraft after one sortie so that the aircraft is ready to fly another mission in a minimum amount of time. The fuel tanks of the aircraft can be filled in a few minutes; however, due to the size and weight of the ammunition, it has required a crew of approximately four men several hours to rearm the aircraft if the armament system is substantially depleted. Similar armament systems using 20 mm and 40 mm ammunition have been provided for other military aircraft; however, the problem of rearming the planes in a minimum of time has continued to exist.
Some efforts have been made to alleviate the problems of replenishing the armament systems of military aircraft such as the patent to Backus et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,704 which has been assigned to General Electric Company. Although the structure disclosed in this patent reduced the time and effort required to load and/or unload (upload and/or download) the aircraft, the time required was still in excess of the time required to supply fuel. Accordingly, at times the aircraft has been detained for the sole purpose of receiving a full complement of ammunition.
Other efforts have been made to provide machines for inserting rounds of ammunition into an ammunition belt of the permanent, linked, or disintegrating types, such as disclosed in the patents to McCord et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,344,443; Freeman, 2,413,316; Edson et al. 2,432,398; and Boehmer 2,638,029. However, most of these structures have included one or more hoppers which feed ammunition onto a conveyor belt and such ammunition is moved axially onto an ammunition belt by a series of push rods.